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Volume XLVIII • Number 13
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www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • April 3, 2019
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
photo by D anny p eterson /t he p ortlanD o bserver
Father Elwin Schwab, pastor of the St. Charles Parish in northeast Portland, is thumbs up on plans to move De La Salle North Catholic High School to the parish’s
former elementary school (above) at Northeast 42nd and Emerson, remodeling and expanding the classrooms to provide a quality private high school in the diverse
Cully neighborhood. The move will not impact St. Charles’ current operations, including parish offices and the St. Vincent de Paul food bank.
De La Salle’s New Home
Diverse high school
plans move to St.
Charles Parish
by D anny p eterson
t he p ortlanD o bserver
The culturally diverse De La Salle
North Catholic High School has signed an
historic agreement paving the way for its
move from the Kenton Neighborhood of
north Portland to the St. Charles Parish, a
diverse congregation in the Cully Neigh-
borhood of northeast Portland. It means
co-locating the high school to the former
St. Charles Elementary parish school at
Northeast 42nd Avenue and Emerson
Street. Future work will be needed to re-
model and expand the school’s footprint to
accommodate the high school’s curriculum
and related activities.
The faith-based prep school was forced
to look for a new location when Port-
land Public Schools decided not to renew
a lease for the building it currently uses,
the former Kenton Elementary school on
North Fenwick Avenue, which expires in
June 2021.
De La Salle is focused on providing
a high quality high school education to
low-income residents and students of col-
or. It enjoys a lower-than-average tuition
when compared to other private Catholic
high schools in Portland, in part thanks to a
unique work-study program.
The St. Charles property includes a for-
mer parish grade school that was active
from 1950 until 1986. Though its 16 class-
rooms were used for various community
activities since then, that usage has slowed
in recent years, St. Charles Parish Priest
Father Elwin Schwab told the Portland
Observer.
“Suddenly we got a building that doesn’t
have enough use. So this is going to work
really good,” Schwab said.
Moving the school into the Cully Neigh-
borhood, one of the most diverse and eco-
nomically-challenged neighborhoods in
Portland is also expected to better position
the school to serve families in need.
“Getting more people who don’t have
opportunities into the system… well hey,
that all works together,” Schwab said.
St. Charles Church will maintain its cur-
rent operations, including parish offices for
staff members and the St. Vincent de Paul
food bank.
The specific terms of the lease are still
being worked out by the school and the par-
ish, but they’ve already signed a letter of
C ontinueD on p age 5